Hasta La Gadget!

Softbank has just held its biannual showcase to reveal its new smartphone family and, as is often the case with Japanese carriers, there’s a few interesting devices alongside the more predictable iPhone fare. Poring over the company’s Winter 2013 collection, it’s Fujitsu’s Arrows A 301F that immediately jumps out, with the particularly useful ability to charge up “a full day” of use in just 10 minutes. However, we’re not sure whether that’s thanks to the processor or a “dedicated” AC adapter that comes with the device. The 2,600mAh battery will reportedly offer three days of use on a full charge and is accompanied by some more familiar smartphone specs, like a 5-inch 1080p display, Snapdragon 800 processor, and 13-megapixel camera sensor. Talking of sensors, there’s one other feature that’s had plenty of attention elsewhere recently: a fingerprint reader. On the Arrow A, it’s located on the rear, just below the flash and camera sensor, although the company hasn’t elaborated on its uses. The phone will launch in Japan this December.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

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Source: Softbank

Inflatable buildings are definitely an interesting way of creating temporary structures, like for concerts, weddings, etc. This particular blow-up building concept has been in the works for at least a year and it looks pretty impressive.

Arata Isozaki and Anish Kapoor collaborated to make this concert hall dubbed Ark Nova. The concert hall will tour the areas of Tohoku, Japan that have been ravaged by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

It takes about two hours to inflate the building, and it can hold about 500 people. It’s filled with wooden benches made from tsunami-damaged cedar trees.

Ark Nova makes its debut in Japan today. It will be interesting to see if other mobile venues like this start popping up.

[via Telegraph via Spoon & Tamago]

The folks over in Japan do come up with some of the more stunning inventions from time to time. In fact, it was just earlier this morning that we talked about a robot which was specially programmed to pick ripe strawberries, allowing farmers to take a break and let the robot do the job – and it has even been touted to offer up to a 67% higher level of efficiency, now how about that? This time around, we have word that a music hall does not need to take years to build, but rather, it can be inflated. This is what the Ark Nova classical music concert hall is all about.

With a seating capacity of approximately 500, this particular inflatable structure can be erected just about anywhere (as long as the plot of land is suitable enough, of course) in a jiffy. Specially designed by Japanese architect Arata Isozaki who worked alongside the British designer Anish Kapoor, the Ark Nova is set to make its debut in Matsushima this coming September 27 (which is today in Japan by the way) with a concert that will be conducted by classical superstar Gustavo Dudamel. Additional concerts will also see a number of other artists who will range from Claudio Abbado to Ryuchi Sakamoto.

Ark Nova Music Concert Hall Is An Inflatable Building original content from Ubergizmo.

Apple is no stranger to lawsuits targeting the iPhone and iPad, but over in Japan, it’s the company’s older iPod design that has landed it in hot water. Kyodo News reports that the Tokyo District Court ordered Apple to pay ¥300 million ($3.3 million) to Japanese inventor Norihiko Saito for infringing on a patent covering the touch-sensitive click wheel used in the iPod Classic and older models of its iconic music player. Saito’s damages come more than five years after he filed the patent lawsuit, during which time he demanded damages of ¥10 billion ($101 million), based partly on the number of iPods Apple had sold during that period. Fortunately for Apple, the final figure was substantially less than Saito’s demand and it’ll only have to sell a few more iPhones to cover the cost.

Filed under: Handhelds, Apple

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Via: Dow Jones

Source: Kyodo News

Nintendo fans in Japan have just been offered the motherload of Wii U bundles: two packages that include as many as three games, an extra controller and a subscription to a karaoke service. Both bundles come with either a white or black 32GB console, a matching Wii Remote Plus, 30 days of Nintendo x Joysound Wii Karaoke U service and digital copies of New Super Mario Bros U and Wii Party U. The lower-end package snags all of the above for a cool 32,800 yen (about $332), but an extra 2,000 yen (roughly $20) adds a copy of Wii Fit U and a Fit Meter — although it looks like the requisite balance board will be sold separately. Considering that a standard Wii U Deluxe system now sells for $300, these bundles seem like solid deals. There’s no word if a similar compilation is being prepared for international markets, but at least we have the limited-edition Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker HD bundle to comfort us.

Filed under: Gaming, Nintendo

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Source: Nintendo